
MOUNTAINEER SERIES 


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Stella in the Woods 







jJSUmntaineer Series. 


Ho. 1. 


The Mountaineers. 


BY 

WILLIS BOYD ALLEN, 
n 

AUTHOR OF “ CHRISTMAS AT SURF POINT,” “ PINE CONES,” 
“SILVER RAGS,” “THE NORTHERN CROSS,” ETC. 



BOSTON AND CHICAGO: . 
Congregational Stmtiags&djool anil ^ubltgfjtng ^ocietg. 



- COPYRIGHT, 1887, BV 

CONGREGATIONAL SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND PUBLISHING SOCIETY. 



THE LIBRARY OF 

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CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER PAGE 

L Sparrows in the Rain ... i 

II. Journey to the Hills ... n 

III. A Discovery 22 

IV. The Mountain Home .... 32 

V. Bright Days 39 






THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


CHAPTER I. 

SPARROWS IN THE RAIN. 

It was a dark, stormy night. 
Through the little town of Sel- 
borne the wind swept fiercely, giv- 
ing every door a savage knock as 
it passed, and singing no end of 
doleful songs in the tree-tops. The 
rain, too, was falling in steady 
streams, and seemed to take espe- 
cial pleasure in dashing in under 
Robert Alden’s tattered umbrella, 
every time the wind tipped it up 
— which it did at almost every 
step, you may be sure. How the 


2 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


drops did run from his brown 
beard and shabby hat and all the 
points of his umbrella, as he 
plodded along through the mud ! 

Pretty soon he glanced ahead, 
and saw a bright light gleaming 
cheerily through the black night. 

“ Ah ! ” said he to himself, “ Polly 
has put a candle in the window 
for me. She knew I would be 
lonely and wet and tired, and the 
candle is to cheer me up a bit.” 

It was not long before he 
reached a small cottage sur- 
rounded by a neat white fence ; 
and entering the little gate went 
up the walk toward the side door, 
which, funnily enough, was in the 
front of the house. The builder 
had thought it pleasanter to have 


SPARROWS IN THE RAIN. 3 

the cottage face the garden on 
one side, rather than stare into 
the dusty street all the time. So 
the front door was in the side, and 
the side door in the front. 

The lower windows were draped 
with red curtains, which were 
drawn back so that Robert could 
see two or three chubby faces 
pressed up against the panes on 
the inside. Beyond these he 
caught a glimpse of a tea-kettle 
steaming merrily on the stove, a 
table with snowy cloth set for 
supper, and Polly, his bright-faced 
little wife, bustling about in her 
preparations for the meal. 

The moment the children saw 
him, they set up a shout and 
rushed to the door, so that when 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


4 

Robert opened it he was instantly 
surrounded and climbed upon and 
kissed in a way that would have 
done your heart good. Off went 
the wet coat and hat, the umbrella 
was folded (all except one arm, 
which it would persist in sticking 
out straight) and carried away to 
the wood-shed. 

By this time Polly had come 
for her share, and it was altogether 
a jolly time, you may be sure. 

As soon, however, as they were 
all seated at table and the children 
were busy with their bread and 
milk, a cloud fell on their fathers 
brow and on Polly’s. For she 
was just like a mirror, and every 
shadow on Robert’s face was sure 
to come out in two sober little 
puckers on her kindly forehead. 


SPARROWS IN THE RAIN. 5 

“ Polly,” said Mr Alden, after 
a minute or two, “ it ’s no use, I 
don’t know which way to turn.” 

“ What is it now, Rob ? ” 

“ The company have shut down 
work at the mill and are only 
going to run half-time. Of course 
they only want half the number 
of hands, and ” — 

“ You ’re discharged ! ” 

“ That ’s about it,” answered 
Robert, with a sad smile. “ After 
next Saturday there ’s no prospect 
of another job until fall or winter. 
Here it is only April, and what 
shall we do for the next six 
months ? ” 

“ I ’m not sure,” said his wife, 
shaking her head slowly and 
swallowing a little choke with her 


6 THE MOUNTAINEERS. 

tea. “ I suppose we shall be cared 
for in some way. If it wasn’t 
for the children ” — she said, glanc- 
ing toward the three curly heads, 
and paused. 

The nearest, a boy of twelve, 
who had been hearing every word, 
looked up quickly and met her 
eye. 

“ Don’t cry, mother,” he said, 
reaching over and stroking her 
hand. “ I am sure He won’t for- 
get us. He can’t get to sparrows 
without reaching us first, you 
know.” 

“ But it was only yesterday, 
King, that a whole lot of sparrows 
were driven away from the mill. 
Yes, and from the old church too, 
where they’ve had nests ever so 
long.” 


SPARROWS IN THE RAIN . J 

It was a girl who spoke, per- 
haps a year or two older than her 
brother. 

“ I know, Stella ; I was there 
when the man beat the vines and 
drove them off. But I did n’t 
see any of the birds fall to the 
ground. It was only their nests.” 

“ Just as bad ! ” 

“ No; they can build new ones.” 

“ Not here in the village. No 1 
where near the mill, any way.” 

“ Then they can fly off and try 
somewhere else.” 

Mr. Alden looked over at his 
w r ife with a new hope in his face. 
If the birds can seek new homes, 
why not folks as well ? 

Polly saw his look and answered 
it. 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


“ If you could get a place any- 
where else, Robert,” she said, “ we 
could move easily. Stella and 
King would help, and though it 
seems too bad to leave the cottage, 
still, perhaps it ’s best.” 

“ I suppose,” said Mr. Alden, 
slowly, “ I could ask the railroad 
people for a job. You know 
they Ve always been very kind 
since King got that log off the 
track last summer. I declare I ’ll 
try ! ” 

The shadow had gone from his 
face, and of course Polly bright- 
ened up too. She took the 
youngest boy, Winthrop, a mis- 
chievous little eight-year-old, into 
her lap, and began to undress 
him for bed. 


SPARROWS IN THE RAIN. 9 

Meanwhile, Mr. Alden took a 
worn, leather-covered Bible from 
a shelf near by, and opened it at 
the Ninety-first Psalm. He read 
only a few verses, then turned to 
the New Testament and read 
about the sparrows and the lov- 
ing Christ who told of them in 
those sweet, far-off days. When 
he had finished, they knelt to- 
gether and Robert Alden prayed. 
He always tried to talk to his 
Father in heaven in such a simple 
way that the children could under- 
stand it all. This was pretty near- 
ly what he said that stormy night : 

“ Dear Lord, we should be very 
much troubled and afraid if we 
did not know you were here, tak- 
ing care of us and the birds out 


IO 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


there in the darkness, and the 
storm itself. Please make us very 
good sparrows, and let us remem- 
ber to fly sometimes, instead of 
hopping all the time on the 
ground after crumbs. Amen.” 





A Kir Mountain Girl 

























CHAPTER II. 


JOURNEY TO THE HILLS. 

The next day was full of sun- 
shine. When King awoke, the 
golden light was pouring in 
through the windows of the room 
where he and his little brother 
Winnie slept. Outside, the spar- 
rows were wishing each other 
good-morning in soft twitters. 
Winnie was still asleep, and King 
crept out of bed without rousing 
him. In ten minutes more he 
was dressed and down-stairs, ready 
for his day’s work. School did 
not begin till nine, and it was now 
only half-past six. 


12 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


“ Let me see,” said King to 
himself. “ I must do something 
for mother, because she will be a 
little anxious about father’s get- 
ting a place to work.” 

He moved about the kitchen 
softly, laid the kindling-wood in 
the stove, and soon had a good 
fire blazing. Next he filled the 
tea-kettle with fresh water and put 
it on to heat ; then swept up the 
hearth nicely, and went out into 
the sweet morning air. 

“ I ’ll be like the Scotch brown- 
ies,” he said gleefully. “ Mother 
will be surprised enough when 
she comes down.” And indeed 
she was astonished and delighted 
to find what her boy had done. 
It was not merely because he had 


JOURNEY TO THE HILLS. 1 3 

built a fire, and so saved her the 
trouble, but because he was loving 
and thoughtful enough to do it. 

After breakfast Mr. Alden 
started out to look for work. First - 
he visited the mill. 

“ We ’re sorry, Alden,” said the 
owner, “ but you see there ’s so 
little business we must stop for 
a while. Here ’s a strong letter 
of recommendation which may 
help you.” 

Robert was glad of the letter 
and of the warm pressure of the 
hand which his old employer gave 
him at parting. 

Next he applied at the railway- 
station. The agent at this point 
had control of a large section of 
the line, and seemed glad of the 
chance to help Mr. Alden. 


14 the mountaineers. 

“ I ’ll tell you what,” he said 
kindly, “ I could give you a place 
as brakeman, or perhaps even 
assistant baggage-master. But I 
know a position that will please 
you better. At the Fir Mountain 
station, twenty-five miles above 
here, there ’s a small store close 
by the depot. You know there ’s 
a big hotel there, and lots of peo- 
ple trade at the store — or would, 
if it was open. The man that had 
it last summer has gone West, and 
we ’ve been looking for somebody 
to take his place. What do you 
say ? ” 

“ What sort of a store ? What 
do they sell ? ” 

“ Oh, candy and fruit, Indian 
baskets, birch bark, and the like. 


JOURNEY TO THE HILLS. I 5 

You can give us a part of the 
money you take, after you get 
started. We ’ll furnish the stock 
to begin with, and you can pay us 
for it a little at a time.” 

“ I ’ll do it,” said Robert, firmly, 
“and glad of the chance. When 
do you want me to be there ? ” 

“ Better go right off. The sum- 
mer boarders will begin to come 
soon, and you need a little time to 
get settled.” 

What a bustle there was at the 
cottage when the plan was an- 
nounced ! The children were wild 
with delight ; even quiet King ca- 
pered about with Winnie on his 
shoulder. All that day and the 
next the whole family worked hard 
at packing. The cottage was a 


1 6 THE MOUNTAINEERS. 

pleasant one, and Mr. Alden easily 
arranged matters with the land- 
lord. He knew a couple, he said, 
who wanted just such a house, 
and they would move in as soon 
as the Aldens were out. There 
was one question which puzzled 
them till the last minute. They 
had a cow which the children 
dearly loved, and whose milk 
seemed sweeter than any they had 
ever tasted. Should old White- 
face go with them or not? Mr. 
Alden was of the opinion that she 
ought to be sold, but Winnie 
begged so hard that they decided 
at length to let his four-footed 
friend accompany them to their 
new home. 

On the third morning after the 


JOURNEY TO THE HILLS. I 7 

storm the whole family bade 
good-by to the old home, walked 
to the station, saw their few house- 
hold goods put into the baggage- 
car, and took the north-bound 
train. Whiteface had been sent 
on ahead in a cattle-car. 

The low levels were soon left 
behind, and the cars began to 
move more slowly as they entered 
the hill-country. It so happened 
that not one of our friends had ever 
been so far in this direction. It 
was all new to them. 

Up, up, through the winding 
valley, beside a roaring, foaming 
stream, the train made its way. 
There were not many passengers 
at this early season, and the 
Aldens had all the room they 


1 8 THE MOUNTAINEERS. 

wanted. King was on the lookout 
to help somebody, and soon had a 
chance. An old lady two seats in 
front of him found the air chilly 
and tugged in vain at her open 
window. 

“ Please, ma’am, will you let me 
try ? ” said a pleasant boyish voice 
at her elbow. King gave it a 
sharp blow, as he had seen the 
conductor do, and down it came. 

The old lady was pleased, and 
gave him some sugared flag-root, 
which King did n’t like a bit, but 
which he accepted politely. 

Now the mountains on each 
side of the track were higher than 
ever. Mrs. Alden declared it 
made her quite dizzy to look up so 
far, almost to the very clouds, and 


JOURNEY TO THE HILLS. I 9 

then down to the bottom of the 
valley below them. 

When the conductor came for 
tickets, Mr. Alden showed him a 
pass the kind-hearted railroad agent 
had given him for all his family 
and one cow. 

“ Ah,” said the conductor, smil- 
ing, “ I saw a nice-looking cow 
standing beside the track near the 
Fir Mountain station this morn- 
ing. She was tied to a telegraph 
pole.” 

“ What color was she ? ” asked 
Winnie eagerly. 

“ Red, with a white face.” 

11 That was old Whiteface,” ex- 
claimed the boy, with great satis- 
faction. “ She s got there all 
right. Only,” he added, “ I hope 


20 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


nobody will telegraph down that 
pole into her ear.” 

The conductor laughed and 
passed on, clipping tickets as he 
went. Winnie amused himself 
for some time longer talking to 
his kitten, which he had brought 
from Selborne in a basket. 

The train now commenced to go 
more and more slowly, and pres- 
ently it stopped before a little 
station near a much larger white 
building. 

“ Fir Mountain ! Fir Moun- 
tain ! ” called the brakeman, loudly, 
at the end of the car. 

At the same moment Stella 
glanced out' of the window and 
cried : “ There s Bossy ! See, right 
by the corner of the station ! ” 


JOURNEY TO THE HILLS. 2 I 

Sure enough, there was the cow 
tied to a post and browsing on the 
rich grass with every appearance 
of content. She did not seem to 
mind the cars at all. 

The conductor helped the Aldens 
alight with their packages, and the 
men soon had all their furniture 
out upon the platform. The bell 
rang, the engine panted, and away 
rolled the train under a bridge, 
round a curve, and out of sight. 


CHAPTER III. 


A DISCOVERY. 

As soon as the train was off, 
Mr. Alden, taking King with him, 
began to look about to find his 
shop. There was a little building 
near the depot, with a large sign 
in front in gilt letters : — 

RUSTIC BAZAAR. 

Mr. Alden took a key from 
his pocket and tried the lock. 
It fitted perfectly, and opening the 
door, they entered. 

They found a single room with 
a counter on each side running 
from front to back. There was a 
place for a stove in the middle. 


A DISCOVERY. 


23 

“ Ah,” said King, “ we can have 
a fire on cold, rainy days, can’t we, 
father? ” 

“To be sure we can. And all 
the wood we want, for nothing.” 

“ I mean to keep a nice wood- 
pile in that place,” said King, 
pointing to a vacant corner. 
“ That shall be one of my duties 
every day.” 

Mr. Alden was inclined to be 
just a little homesick at first, but 
the boy’s cheerful tone encouraged 
him. 

“ There ’s nothing here to sell 
yet,” he said, glancing over the 
empty counters and shelves. 
“ But then,” he added, “ there are 
not many people here to buy, so 
that does n’t make much differ- 
ence.” 


24 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


“Where are we to live, father ?” 

“ I can’t tell yet, my boy. We 
must find some one and ask.” 

The station-master, a burly, 
good-natured man with a round, 
jolly face, just then appeared at 
the door. 

“ I suppose you ’re Mr. Alden, the 
new store-keeper?” he said, holding 
out his hand and giving Robert a 
hearty grip. “ And this must be 
your boy — the one that saved a 
smash-up on our road not long 
ago. I ’m Mr. Stevenson, in 
charge here.” 

The three were good friends at 
once. The family were to stop at 
the hotel for awhile, said Mr. 
Stevenson, and could have their 
rooms rent free till the first of 


A DISCOVERY. 


25 

May. Men were already taking 
their furniture up from the plat- 
form where it had been left. The 
cow would be cared for in the 
hotel stables. 

“ Now, Robert/’ said his smart 
little wife, as soon as they were 
alone, “ it will never do to board 
at that hotel this summer. It will 
cost too much. We must find 
some other way.” 

They walked down to the shop 
together, and examined it care- 
fully, but it was plain that they 
could not sleep in it. 

Mr. Alden was almost discour- 
aged again ; but King, who had 
followed them, spoke up bravely. 
“ We shall find a way somehow, 
mother,” he said. “ I don’t believe 


26 THE MOUNTAINEERS . 

God would help us so far and 
leave right off.” 

“ Perhaps there is some kind of 
a house among the loggers,” added 
Polly. “ At any rate, we can in- 
quire.” 

Nothing more could be done 
that day, however; nor could they 
find any place to live, though they 
spent a good part of the following 
forenoon in inquiring. The “ log- 
gers ” were a set of rough men, 
employed in a large saw-mill, 
about half a mile from the hotel. 
They lived with their families in a 
clump of low, ill-kept hovels beside 
the railroad ; the women and chil- 
dren were so ill-bred and dirty that 
clean little Mrs. Polly could not 
think of boarding with them. 


A DISCOVERY. 


2 7 

There were perhaps a hundred, old 
and young, in the settlement, 
which was known along the road 
as “ Slabtown.” There was no 
school, church, or Sunday-school 
in the place. 

In the afternoon of the second 
day, Mrs. Alden, finding she could 
do nothing more about a home, 
very sensibly took Stella and Win- 
throp for a walk in the woods ; 
leaving King behind with his 
father, to clear up the shop. 

They struck into a path which 
led directly up the side of a 
lofty mountain overlooking the 
valley. There were tall firs and 
spruces all about them, and the 
forest floor was carpeted with 
green moss. Beside the path a 


28 THE MOUNTAINEERS. 

shy little stream came dancing 
down the hill-side, now hiding be- 
hind rocks and ferns, now peeping 
out at them again, and laughing 
in the sunshine. There were some 
pretty gray-and-white birds flutter- 
ing about among the dark boughs 
of the fir-trees, which Stella knew, 
from the pictures she had seen, 
must be snow-birds. It was too 
early for most of the summer birds 
yet; only a few had arrived from 
the South. Stella was like her 
father, easily discouraged and 
easily cheered up. The sight of 
God’s wee brook coming down 
from the high country made her 
glad. Where were the clouds the 
brook must have seen and felt in 
the dark night? It had taken 


A DISCOVERY. 29 

them into its heart and turned 
them into diamonds flashing in 
the sunlight! 

“ That ’s the way I must do 
with my troubles and father’s,” 
thought the girl. “ I’ll be a con- 
tented little brook, trying to re- 
fresh whatever is near me, singing 
all the time, and keeping a bright 
face.” 

“ Mother,” she said presently, 
“ let ’s go on as far as that little 
level spot beyond the big rock, 
and then rest.” 

They were about a quarter of a 
mile from the shop. Mrs. Alden 
sat down on the rock and Stella 
took care of her brother, who ran 
about eagerly among the trees, 
shouting and laughing at the top 
of his voice. 


30 THE MOUNTAINEERS. 

Soon they heard him calling 
a short distance away. 

“What is it, you lively little 
squirrel ? ” cried Stella, merrily. 

“ I Ve found a house ! ” 

“ A house ! What does the boy 
mean ? ” 

“ A truly house, Stella, right in 
the woods. And grass too. Oh, 
come, do, and see ! ” 

A few steps showed that he was 
right. There, just out of sight 
from the path, stood a good-sized 
log-cabin. It was surrounded by 
thick blue firs, except on one side, 
where there was a small clearing, 
in which grew a kind of long, lux- 
uriant grass. 

There was no door, and the 
three went in, wondering more 



— Page 30. 


“ I ’ve found a house ! ” 









A DISCOVERY. 


31 

and more at every step. The 
cabin was divided into two rooms 
and had a large garret overhead, 
where lay heaps of yellow straw 
At one end of the further room 
below was a broad stone fire-place, 
with a clumsy iron crane for hang- 
ing kettles. 

A queer sound caused Stella to 
look up quickly. There were 
tears in Mrs. Alden’s brown eyes. 

“What is it, mother ?” ex- 
claimed Stella, tenderly, coming to 
her side. 

“ Nothing to cry about, dear. 
It was just from joy to find our 
prayers answered so quickly.” 

“ Answered ? ” 

“Yes, dear. Here is our home 
— our new nest.” 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE MOUNTAIN HOME. 

What busy days followed! 
Mr. Alden had so much to do in 
repairing the shop and arranging 
the stock, which began to arrive in 
great cases, that he could not pay 
much attention to the new house. 
He was obliged to leave the 
moving almost entirely to King 
and his mother, while Stella 
helped, where she could, at both 
places. There was a sort of rough 
logging-road which led to the hut, 
and along this they managed to 
send up one load of furniture with 
a horse and drag which the hotel 
people lent them. 


THE MOUNTAIN HOME. 33 

King was handy with tools, and 
using pieces of board which he 
found scattered about the saw-mill, 
where they had been thrown away, 
he made a very good door and 
mended the floor where repairs 
were needed. 

The carpets from the old house 
were put down, and the garret 
divided into three bed-rooms. 

There was a rude log stable 
only a few steps from the house; 
for this was, they found, an old 
logging-camp, built three or four 
years before and abandoned by 
the loggers. In the stable White- 
face was greatly pleased with a 
bed of clean, rustling straw. Dur- 
ing the day she was allowed to 
feed in the little grass-plot, and 


34 the mountaineers. 

sometimes to take a meal down in 
the meadow, for a change. 

A good fire was kept blazing in 
the fire-place, so as to dry the 
house thoroughly ; and at the end 
of the week the family all moved 
in. 

As evening came on, Winnie 
was frightened when he looked 
out of the narrow window and saw 
how black it was. Even Stella 
felt nervous, but she knew she 
ought to make the little boy brave, 
instead of being frightened with 
him. Besides, she had a lovely 
name that told her what she must 
do. Do you know what “Stella” 
means? Ask your big brother 
who studies Latin, and he will tell 
you that it is only another word 


THE MOUNTAIN HOME. 35 

for star. Now our little Stella 
knew very well what stars are for 
— just to shine, night and day. 
In the day-time you don’t notice 
the stars, because it is so bright, 
but at night, then they all com- 
mence to twinkle one after the 
other until if you look closely, 
you ’ll find very little light in be- 
tween them. 

Stella resolved she would shine. 
So she took Winnie on her lap 
and began to tell him stories. 
She told him about the fir-trees, 
and how they were all tucked in 
with snow in the winter. 

“ But snow is cold,” said Winnie. 

“ Not so cold as the air,” 
laughed Stella. “Your blankets 
are cold sometimes, when you go 


THE MOUNTAINEERS . 


36 

to bed in the winter. But they 
keep out the cold air, and so you 
grow warm. Then the trees have 
lots of company in the winter.” 

“What do you mean, Stella?” 

“ Oh, snow-birds, and wrens, and 
foxes, and mice. Yes, and par- 
tridges making embroidery.” 

Winnie laughed outright, for- 
getting his fear entirely. 

“Well, sort of stamped patterns. 
They walk about in the snow and 
make the prettiest patterns you 
ever saw. Then you will see the 
tracks of old Master Fox, with 
just a little soft pat between the 
foot-prints.” 

“ What makes that ? ” 

“ His bushy tail! I expect there 
are foxes close by us now, in the 


THE MOUNTAIN HOME. 


37 

woods, perhaps curled up tight, 
with their red noses snugly 
cuddled into their tails. Oh ! and 
birds saying good-night to each 
other, and stars twinkling overhead 
in the sky and crowding up to- 
gether to see their faces in that bit 
of a brook.” 

Winnie began to think the 
night a lovely thing, after all. 

“What makes it night, Stella?” 
he asked sleepily. 

“Just the old tired earth, dear, 
turning over and going to sleep.” 

“ Does God go to sleep ? ” 

Mr. Alden, who had been listen- 
ing quietly, took down the Bible 
once more and read the One 
Hundred and Twenty-first Psalm. 
Then, after asking their heavenly 


THE MOUNTAINEERS . 


38 

Father to watch over his sparrows 
in their new nest, they mounted the 
stairs to the little garret bed-rooms 
and were soon sound asleep. 



The Sparrow’s Greeting. 
























CHAPTER V. 


BRIGHT DAYS. 

Stella rose early, like a faith- 
ful little star, on the morning after 
the first night in the mountain 
home. As she drew the bolt and 
slipped quietly out into the sun- 
shine, she heard a sound which 
filled her heart with gladness. It 
was a burst of music from a small 
brown bird perched on a stump 
near the path. How he did sing ! 
Stella was still half-asleep, and 
perhaps it was because she had 
been dreaming of sparrows that 
the wee bird’s song seemed to be 
real words, something like this : — 


40 


THE MOUNTAINEERS. 


“ Night is over. 

Day has come, 

In the clover 
Brown bees hum. 

See, see, 

How they come ! 

Now the yellow 
Butterfly, 

Pretty fellow, 

Flutters by. 

See, see, 

What a fly ! 

Sunshine falling 
On the tree — 

Some one ’s calling ! 
Who can she — 

Me? Me? 

Yes, she ’s calling me ! ” 


At any rate, just at this point 
another sparrow gave a queer little 
chirp in a thicket close by, and 
away flew the singer, as fast as he 
could fly. Stella laughed to herself, 
rubbed her eyes, and went in to 
help about breakfast. 


BRIGHT DAYS. 4 1 

One of the first tasks which 
King set himself to do was to 
prepare a garden. It was very 
small, to be sure, but it prospered 
amazingly. They had brought 
garden tools from the old home, 
and King took great pains to clear 
the ground from roots and dig it 
up thoroughly. The earth was 
rich, and the few flower-seeds they 
planted thrived and grew. Soon 
there were nasturtium vines and 
scarlet runners about the rough 
walls. Gilly-flowers were the first 
to blossom, and balsams and mari- 
golds gave promise of glory in the 
late summer. In the midst of his 
other duties, Mr. Alden found time 
to plant potatoes and corn, and a 
small bed of such vegetables as 


4 2 THE MOUNTAINEERS. 

beets and turnips. The cow could 
no longer be allowed to go where 
she liked, and a fence of fallen 
trees was built around her little 
hill-pasture. 

Down in the valley the Aldens 
were laughingly called “ The 
Mountaineers,” and soon they 
were known and liked, not only at 
the hotel, but throughout the little 
mill settlement. I wish I had 
time to tell how Polly and her 
daughter made friends among 
those ignorant women and chil- 
dren. It began in this way. One 
day they saw a girl, with an honest 
but sad face, coming down the 
mountain-path. She had been 
gathering wood and had a bundle 
of sticks in her arms. 


BRIGHT DAYS. 


43 


Mrs. Alden called her in to rest, 
and while she was there talked 
with her about her home. The 
girl told her she had four younger 
brothers and sisters, and at Mrs. 
Alden’s invitation promised to 
bring them the next day. It 
proved to be stormy, but through 
a pouring rain came the five, drip- 
ping, up the path. At first they 
were too bashful to say a word, 
but after they had all had bread 
and milk, they began to chatter. 

Mrs. Alden told them one or 
two stories, gave them each a 
ginger-cake, and having got them 
as dry as she could, sent them 
home in the shelter of a broken 
umbrella and two water-proofs. 
The next day they were promptly 


| 


44 the mountaineers. 

on hand, bringing back the bor- 
rowed articles, and ready to hear. 
They knew nothing whatever of 
God or Christ ; had never heard 
the name. Quietly Mrs. Alden 
told them the story of Palestine, 
to which they listened with open 
eyes and ears. The next time she 
sung a little hymn, with the help 
of her own children ; and the 
strangers, who, meanwhile, had 
brought one new scholar, joined in 
once or twice, half-frightened at 
the sound of their own voices. 
So began a school and a Sunday- 
school. Christ was talking to 
these little ones just as he talked 
when he had gone up into a 
mountain so many years ago. 

King worked sturdily all sum- 
mer to help his father, and the 


BRIGHT DAYS. 


45 


little shop did so well that when 
autumn came all debts were paid 
off, and Mr. Alden was free to go 
back to his old place in Selborne, 
if he chose. He thought it all 
over, and at last decided to stay in 
his mountain home through the 
winter. It needed one more sea- 
son, he said, to set him firmly on 
his feet. Some time I hope to 
tell you how they spent the cold 
months that followed in the log 
hut. 

King, Stella, and Winnie, as 
well as their father and mother, 
continued to try their best to grow 
stronger and nobler and more 
helpful; more like Jesus of Naza- 
reth ; and so, always climbing 
upward, proved themselves true 
Mountaineers. 



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